Prospect Mountain Summit: An Easy Ascent or Less So

What to Do on a Lake George Vacation

Not a hiker? You needn’t be one to ascent Prospect Mountain overlooking Lake George, N.Y.Photo credit: M. Ciavardini

Things I think about on my way up Prospect Mountain in Lake George, N.Y.: the state of man in nature, the state of nature in nature, preservation versus conservation, getting to the top, whether the brakes will fail on the way down, whether it’s fair to drive up a mountain, how a road on a mountain makes the mountain more accessible to travelers of all types, whether I would ever do this if there were no road.

Solar panels atop Prospect Mountain, N.Y.Photo credit: L. Tripoli

What I discover near the top: solar panels used to power a comfort station, a parking lot, a shuttle bus for those who need a boost for the last few hundred yards, a paved trail for the rest of us.

It’s not Everest, I’m not up for Everest, I don’t need a situation where I might have to saw off my arm, the view is beautiful at the top, and in the middle, and at the bottom, I like this, I know we shouldn’t do this on every mountain, I’m glad it’s here, I’m glad it’s accessible, I’m grateful for those solar panels, remember that view remember this place remember to bloom.

—Lori Tripoli

The Brawny Sherpa and the Bashful Adventurer on the summit of Prospect Mountain, N.Y.Photo credit: J. Ciavardini

Travel to the American Revolution

Where to Brush by the Revolution

March 28, 2017

Share! I haven’t visited any places specifically to learn about the War of Independence, but I have stumbled upon little reminders at a few places. Seeing little bits of the past brings history alive for me. I know I learned…

Visiting the Revolution through Books

March 28, 2017

Share! American history keeps coming to me as I travel in the northeastern United States. I realize that, as a political science major, I learned more about the French and the Russian revolutions than the one had here at home.…

Revolution in Ridgefield

March 28, 2017

Share! I stand in Mapleshade Cemetery in Ridgefield, Conn. and look at the grave of Corporal William Lee and see that he died in September 1776 while serving during the Revolutionary War. He died at the age of 23 without…

Danbury: Revolution, Hats, and a Rosy Tomorrow

March 28, 2017

Share! A reminder to observe your world, no matter how close to home you are traveling: How many times do I walk into Rosy Tomorrow’s restaurant in Danbury, Conn. without noticing a sign posted outside? I have multiple opportunities to…

Newport: Trinity Church, Where Were You in the Revolution?

July 7, 2014

Share! Before France’s Comte de Rochambeau showed up in Newport, the city was under the control of the British during the American Revolution. Trinity Church, an Anglican congregation, was built in 1726 and “was spared . . . humiliation and…

Who Is the Bashful Adventurer?

A telemarketer changed my path. My life was humming along. I was a freelance writer and editor, a single mom, a frequent volunteer, and content. Then I decided to give a random telephone surveyor a break. I agreed to answer a few questions on travel destinations and tourist preferences. When I answered never to “how many times have you been to London?,” the telemarketer’s tone shifted quickly. She was talking to an unworldly woman.

She was right. I’d been to Italy, the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and plenty of states. I hadn’t trekked through Europe, though, or gone to Asia or visited the Middle East. I was alone, I was a single mom, I was a freelancer. I stopped letting these be excuses and started getting on planes. I became the Bashful Adventurer.

—Lori Tripoli

Around the Planet

Cool in Iceland

Staying in Reykjavik? Choose Natura

January 22, 2015

Share! The hardest part about traveling to a place none of your friends have been to before is figuring out where to stay. What’s the most desirable part of the city? What provides the best value? How good is the…

To Iceland to See

January 13, 2015

Share! People ask what I did on my short trip to Iceland and, in retrospect, it seems not much. I soaked in geothermal pools, watched a meteor shower in the darkness, saw some of the countryside and a bit of…

Living Viking Style

January 5, 2015

Share! Of all of the options for a day in Reykjavik, the Brawny Sherpa and I choose to learn more about Vikings. We head to the Settlement Exhibition, more formally named the Settlement Exhibition Reykjavik 871 +/-2. It’s a small…

A Geyser Named Geysir

January 3, 2015

Share! A bit of snow and a bus getting stuck in a snow bank slow our visit to Iceland’s Geysir, for which all other geysers are named, for about a minute. Icelandic drivers and tour guides know what to do…

On Eating Like a Viking

December 31, 2014

Share! When seeking an unknown-to-us restaurant or coffee bar, the Brawny Sherpa and I have a tradition of choosing the second most viable place. This habit comes from too many experiences pulling off a highway exit, easing into the first…

This Makes Iceland Worth It

December 28, 2014

Share! I expect the Northern Lights to highlight my trip to Iceland, but my visit to the Blue Lagoon in Grindavik turns out to be even more heavenly. A geothermal spa, the Blue Lagoon features large pools of 100-degree bluish-white…